More Than Bread

Send me a Text Message!As quickly as time goes by, if you don't put your heart into the things that matter, you'll miss them! There is a request in Luke 11, for Jesus from a guy who had spent one-on-one time with Jesus, and I think the request is meant to point us to something that matters.  If you miss every other point I make in this episode, write these two down. 1)  If prayer matters this much to Jesus, I want it to matter to me.  So I'm going to start by asking, Jesus teach me that.  Teach me to pray.  Shape my heart so that prayer matters to me like it matters to you. 2) If I want to learn how to pray I need to learn everything I can from Jesus about  prayer. Jesus teach us to pray!

Send me a Text Message!Once when Jesus had been out praying, one of his disciples came to him as he finished and said, "Lord, teach us to pray..." They had been watching Jesus; front-row seats to watch the greatest pray-er who ever prayed. Jesus' habit was to rise early in the morning to talk with His Father.  In the evening He'd often go to the Mount of Olives or some other quiet spot to pray. And don't you suppose that the disciples noticed that when Jesus prayed stuff happened.  Seas calmed.  Dead people get alive.  Bread multiplies.  Wine created. Mountain-top experiences. Stuff like that ever happen when you pray? So it was perhaps understandable, that the only recorded time that the disciples asked Jesus to teach them anything, it was prayer. Teach us to pray!

Send me a Text Message!Our Lent series has carried along a minor theme of trusting God. The major theme was Jesus' last few weeks on earth, the crucifixion, the resurrection and the ascension, but the minor theme has been the question, "Can God be trusted?" I realize most of you listening, believe in Jesus, but do you believe Jesus? Do we trust what he says enough that when he says it, we do it? Do I trust him? I think it's impossible to find the thriving value of every word that comes from the mouth of God if we only listen and learn but never lean in. So this last episode simply asks that question one more time. Do I trust Jesus?

Send me a Text Message!I love to imagine that I was there, in the upper room, in those days right after Jesus went up home. But for a moment I'd like you to imagine you missed it. You weren't there. You didn't join the group. Got distracted. Got scared. Other things were more important. You missed it. What did they have to do in order to receive the promise? Just wait. Be there. 120 waited. They prayed. They didn't have to earn it.  They just had to be there, they just had to join in. See I know there are times when we are called to wrestle in prayer, to agonize in prayer, to battle in prayer. But sometimes, I also think that God just wants us to be there. He wants us to engage with others for Him. But imagine you missed it?  

Send me a Text Message!We celebrate the incarnation at Christmas, resurrection at Easter, but that's only 2/3's of the story at best. Where is Jesus now? After 40 days of post-resurrection, earth-walking, he went up...home. This is the ascension. Can I tell you why the ascension is so important? We need to know who Jesus is now, where Jesus is now, what Jesus is doing now. It's so important because what we need we can't get on our own. Who we need to become we can't become on our own. The ascension tells us that Jesus is who we need now! He not only understands our prayer, he hears our prayers. And he not only hears our prayers, he holds the key to all our prayer's answers, because He went up!

Send me a Text Message!One of Jesus' last words before going up home was the word, "Wait." Now everyone, at some intersection of life will have to learn to wait. Lewis Smedes writes: "Waiting is our destiny as creatures who cannot by themselves bring about what they hope for.  We wait in darkness for a flame we cannot light.  We wait in fear for a happy ending we cannot write.  We wait for a not yet that feels like a not ever.  Waiting is the hardest work of hope." Don't miss that. God's "wait" is a word of hope. When God says, "wait" He's promising you that there will be a tomorrow. God's "Wait!" is a promise of more. And so in this episode, I'm asking you to join me in asking Him...for more!

Send me a Text Message!Before Jesus left his team and went back to his Father in heaven, he gave them a cause, a calling, a great commission. Go and make disciples. Haddon Robinson once wrote, "Somewhere I must find a cause that is greater than myself that is worthy of my life." We deperately need to be committed.  Otherwise we have this awful sense that our lives don't count. We want our lives to count, so Christ offersus a cause.   In John 17:18, Jesus said, "In the same way that You gave Me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world."  Just like God sent Jesus on a mission, Jesus is sending us. That's our cause. I call it Grander-Mission Living! Do you have a cause that is worthy of your living and your dying?

Send me a Text Message!As we start to wrap up our Lent Series, we are looking at some moments in the 40 days between Jesus' resurrection and his ascension into heaven. One of those moments, was Peter's campfire encounter with Jesus. In the last episode we set it up with a reminder of Peter's betrayal and the Rooster's notification. In this episode, we're going to the campfire breakfast that Jesus had with Peter and some of his friends. But as we go to breakfast, don't forget that image I left with you. Jesus eyes from the cross, catching Peter's eyes in his denial. And the possibility that the way Jesus looked at Peter when the rooster crowed, was the same way Jesus looked at Peter before the rooster crowed; with love. What if in that glance, Jesus is looking forward to a moment on a beach and He's already imagining his sunrise invitation to...come have breakfast? Maybe it's your invitation too!

Send me a Text Message!At the very heart of this next story, a story that took place after the resurrection and before the ascension, is a breakfast with Jesus. It was a meal around a campfire and a moment of renewal between Peter and Jesus. I think you could say that Jesus never met a meal he didn't like. He just had this way of turning every table into sacred space, every meal into an encounter with God. Is it any wonder that a hallmark of the early church was the practice of hospitality, the sharing of their table? See long before the church had pulpits, she had tables. And the invitation to meet Jesus often started with "Wanna do lunch?" Or in this case breakfast.But before we get to that campfire breakfast, we need to set the stage, put our souls in Peter's sandals and be reminded, that I'm not a loser if Jesus loves me. 

Send me a Text Message!For the next few episodes as we close our our Lent series, we are going to look at a few of Jesus' days between the resurrection and his ascension. In this episode it's that guy who has the nickname that kind of sucked but totally stuck. Doubting Thomas. How would you like to be remembered with that nickname for a couple thousand years? But Thomas' story is an excellent reminder that that quest for faith is sometimes difficult. If you have ever wrestled with doubts, and I have...then Thomas' story will encourage you and remind that...Jesus is ok with your doubts!

Send me a Text Message!From the earliest days of our movement, a greeting arose that was so meaningful. The early Christians greeted each other with the constant reminder that their story was not over and the best was yet to come. The one to initiate the greeting would say, "Christ is risen." The one responding would say, "He is risen indeed." From the very beginning, true Christianity has been a movement of the indeed. He has risen indeed. To those who say that the resurrection is just a metaphor; to those who imagine that after Jesus died, his disciples found  themselves still moved by his life and his teaching and at some point said, "Let's honor his memory by talking about him like he's still alive.  We say, "No he is risen indeed." Resurrection Sunday is an indeed day.

Send me a Text Message!As the story unfolds, it's Saturday. The disciples are in this in-between time; the  time in between hopeless and hopeful.  They don't know what's available so they aren't living like what's available is really available. It's life in the in-between.  Can you relate to that?  As a follower of Jesus do you ever feel like you are living life in the in-between? You're not quite hopeless, but not quite hopeful.  You believe in God, but a vital relationship?  Sometimes you put forth quite a bit of effort to be a good Christian, but it seems like duty and you're not sure God cares.You don't consider your life broken, but on the other hand, you hear these promises about abundant life and you wonder if you're missing something.  Sometimes we wake up to find ourselves in the in-between life and we don't even know how we got there but more than anything else we want to know how to move on. Are you living life in the in-between? 

Send me a Text Message!The cross is the ultimate, blow-out love-burst of God. Think about it. From the eyes of heaven, the resurrection was no big deal. Do you think the angels of heaven  waited with bated breath to see if God could raise Jesus from the dead? Were they surprised that the creator of life could give life to the bringer of life? In heaven's  eyes the resurrection might have been a bit ho-hum. But the cross? "O my God,"they must have whispered in the halls of heaven, will he really do it? Does he love them...all of them so much that he'll climb up on that tree and take all the sin and shame of the world upon himself and experience their loneliness and brokenness. Does he love them that much?And the answer was yes.

Send me a Text Message!Thursday of the last week was the very first communion in the history of the world! So in this episode we have a very simple focus on communion. This mini-drama set in the context of the Passover (a great celebration of deliverance) remembers, celebrates, even revels in the death of Jesus. That's what communion is all about; we proclaim the Lord's death. We celebrate Christ Crucified.  I'll be honest, part of me cringes when I put those three words together. Celebrate  -- Christ -- Crucified.  It is a mysterious wonder that they could be put together and still have meaning. But they do, such a deep meaning that transformed the foundations of reality. Are we ready to celebrate Christ crucified?

Send me a Text Message!Who was Judas? Well he was chosen by Jesus. When Jesus was putting together his inner circle, when he stayed up all night praying, asking the Father who should the twelve be, Judas was in his mind. He must have been trusted at least to some degree by Jesus. I mean he was the treasurer; he was in charge of the team's money.And I believe that Jesus loved Judas. He washed his feet. He showed Judas the full extent of his love. Yet, despite being chosen and trusted and loved by Jesus, Judas betrayed him. How is that possible? How do you hang out with Jesus for three years? See what he did and meet how he healed and listen to the voice that calmed the storm, and heard him teach? How do you meet with face-to-face, sit next to Jesus at the table…and then after all of that turn around and betray Jesus? All I can say is that I don't want to be Judas!

Send me a Text Message!When Jesus died on the cross, the viel in the temple, which kept everyone away from the very holy presence of God, that curtain was torn in two. We've all thought that the message in that moment was "Come. You're invited. Come into God's presence." But what if God tore the curtain in two as a way of saying, "I will not be put in a box. Walls cannot contain me."  That could change everything.Do you understand? Since the resurrection, any place can be a sacred space, because Christ is let loose and His presence brings the sacred to every space He touches. There is no box that can keep God in!

Send me a Text Message!The four gospels are basically biographies  of Jesus, but unlike most biographies you've ever read, the gospels pretty much ignore the first 30 years of Jesus' life. They dive into his last three years, but of his last three years, about 1/3 of the pages of the gospels are dedicated to his last week. Sunday to Sunday. 8 days. Apparently the people who knew him best felt we could not get Jesus if we don't get this week in his life. What happens in these eight days is the hot burning  center of his life. So here is what we are going to do for the last episodes of this Lent-series. Each episode will land on a story, an event, a truth from that day of that week. Which means that maybe, I'll even do In-between Saturday and Resurrection Sunday. If you want Palm Sunday go to our youtube page youtube.com/calvarycwow. That was my message for this weekend. But for Holy Monday...we're talking about the problem with sacred places!

Send me a Text Message!Spread throughout John 14-17 (which begins with the words, "you will have trouble") are these amazing prayer promises that center around the word, "whatever" -- like "Whatever you ask for in my name, God will give it to you." Whatever. Whatever you ask. You're probably thinking, "Wait a minute Dan, we've got to be careful how people take a verse like this. It's like we want to protect God's fragile reputation. We don't want people to have unreasonably high hopes in God. And I know, it's not like life was easy with Jesus. Not every ending was happy. There was trouble, hardship. But let me simply tell you, prayer matters to God. If it didn't matter to God, Jesus wouldn't say, "Whatever you ask." 

Send me a Text Message!You will have trouble! Jesus made it clear that this is normal. You will have trouble  in the world. All kinds of trouble. You're going to go through circumstances that will cause doubt and fear. You will lose friends. The world will hate you and people will persecute you. The enemy of your souls, the prince of this world is coming and there may be opportunities for you to lay down your life for your friends. There's going to be trouble, but listen... We often find trouble just before we get to a breakthrough. Right? It's always darkest before the dawn. Difficult times are a catalyst for spiritual growth. You will have trouble, but...breakthrough is coming! 

Send me a Text Message!We live in neighborhoods filled with people in need of hope. And I believe that somewhere within us is a desire, a stirring to make a hope-filled difference in our neighborhoods, our schools, our workplaces, all throughout our communities. At least in part, I hope that's why you are listening, and I hope that along with that stirring in your heart to make a difference, you have at least a suspicion that you can't do it on your own. That perhaps like the early church we are better together. That's what this episode is all about. I have a deep conviction that not only are we better together, but that actually we cannot accomplish all the dreams on our hearts, if we do not constantly and consistently aim our lives and our churches toward the dream of Christ's heart. What is His dream? Well the dream on Christ's heart is the prayer on his lips!

Send me a Text Message!Years ago, when speaker of the house Sam Rayburn heard he had terminal cancer, he shocked everyone when he announced he was going back to his small town in Bonham, Texas. People said to him: "We've got the finest facilities here in D.C., why go back to that little town?" Rayburn's response came from his deep desire for community. He said, "Because in Bonham, Texas, they know if you're sick, and they care when you die." Perhaps some things are even more important than the finest medical facilities. If no one cares, you're truly alone. So who cares?In this episode we'll start where most good things start, with Jesus. Because the  more we get to know Jesus...the more our hearts get saturated with the undying reality that Jesus Cares. In fact, Jesus not only cares for us, he cares that we care. 

Send me a Text Message!How do you measure greatness? Whether it's for a country, a business, a community or perhaps even more importantly for a person, for you and me. How do we measure greatness? What does glorious greatness look like? How do you recognize it?  We may have different pictures of greatness in different fields. So how do you measure greatness?  To what greatness do you aspire? That's easy for me, I want to be a great dad and a great husband.  I want to be a leader of a great movement that touches people so profoundly, that whole cities are transformed. I want to go on glorious adventures...be involved in great missions to love people all the way to Jesus.But is there a glory, a greatness that superseeds all other categories? That's the question we're asking in this episode. The true essence of greatness is...?

Send me a Text Message!Henry Blackaby said that "A love relationship with God is more important than any other single factor in your life." Did you live your day or your week as though your relationship with God was the single most important factor in your life? Listen, the witness of the church is so intimately related to the manifest presence of God, that without it, the peoples of the world cannot and will not, believe. And that's what we have...the presence of God. Moses was a man who had experienced the power of God in ways most of us could only dream about.  But he was also a man who knew His God; they talked together face to face as a man would with a friend. And when the time came for Moses to choose between the presence of God and the power of God, it was no contest. So the question is...do I value His presence over His power. Am I God's friend?

Send me a Text Message!In the permanent record of his words, God has told us time and time again that He loves us. And He has used a variety of illustrations in the hopes that one of those stories would resonate with the deepest chords of your heart. But every story, every illustration, every metaphor was simply a pre-view of the real deal...the cross. Can you imagine the courage it took to love so deeply that you would walk the path of the cross? It's a courageous love; the kind of love that will go to bat for you even when it costs; the kind of love that won't walk away when it's hard and scary; the kind of love that will even be willing to die for you...The story of God involves a cross.

Send me a Text Message!God is calling you to go all-in, because that's how he loves you...with all His heart. What God asks from you is what He gives to you, His whole heart. God is all-in. His heart burns for you! This holy, sovereign, high and exalted, God is all-in for you.  Even when you are undone by your failure, you have all of his heart. He didn't choose you because you've got it all together. He chose you because He loves you and He loves you just because. Whatever your track record is, if you are willing to fully surrender to God, then he'll use you to make a difference in your world. You become eligible to be a hero in God's story, the moment you surrender. He is for you, with all His heart! 

Send me a Text Message!Are you on fire for God? Make no mistake, the fire of God will look different in thehearts of different people. For some people being on-fire for God will cause them to be God's greatest cheer-leader; for others on-fire will bring a steely-eyed courageous love that sacrifices and surrenders for someone else's good. For some the fire of God will bring a mysterious smile in the midst of hard times; for others it's tears every time their heart brushes up against His presence. It will deepen our prayer lives and cause us to truly love our neighbors, even those who are our enemies. I can't answer this question for you...because your heart has a different shape than mine, so we each need to answer the question for ourselves...Have you ever been on fire for God?

Send me a Text Message!In this episode and the next we are going to look at a prayer in Isaiah 64. It's a corporate prayer of lament, but it's also my Easter-Prayer. You know I think it's difficult to grow in prayer, if the prayer "God we need you." isn't always at the center of our hearts and on the tip of our tongues. In fact O Hallesby in a classic book on prayer says, "Listen my friend your helplessness is your best prayer. It calls from your heart to the hrt of God with greater effect than all your uttered pleas."But helplessness is not our preferred state of life, is it? Acknowledgment of our helplessness is not our habit. We would much rather be busy than helpless. We embrace busyness because busyness is all about what we can do, what we need to do, what everyone expcts us to do...maybe even what we do pretty well.But what if our helplessness, the kind of helplessness that would cause us to dive into prayer like it was necessary and urgent, what if that kind of helplessness would lead to the life-burst of God? That's my Easter-Prayer!

Send me a Text Message!At Calvary (my church) every fourth Sunday is CWOW Sunday, church without walls. Rather than going to church, we go out to be the church. You know we call Sunday morning a worship service. We sing and we pray. We listen for a word from God to our hearts and we experience God's presence in many different ways. We call it a worship service. But in this episode I will suggest another term, another way to worship. Rather than just going to a worship service, what if we participated in service-worship? Service in the name of Jesus, serving people with the love of God is real worship. Instead of just saying, I worship you. We show that we worship Him. Generosity can be a simple, profound act of worship! 

Send me a Text Message!Mary had this opportunity that I don't have to give an extravagant gift to Jesus, face to face, to see his expression of gratitude. I have to be honest, I'm kind of  jealous of this woman who has been remembered for centuries as someone who was so crazy in love with Jesus, that you cannot talk about the good news with out talkng about her. I would love Jesus like that, if I had a chance. I tell myself, "Jesus would not go hungry or thirsty in my town."  I tell myself, "Jesus would have a place to live in my world."  I tell myself, if I had anything to say about it Jesus would be taken care of...but Jesus isn't around anymore. I tell myself.But what if He is? What if the story Jesus is telling is just a figurative life-principle but a spiritual reality? Then I have to ask myself, "She was crazy in love with Jesus, am I?"

Send me a Text Message!When it comes to living God's dream for our lives, the journey to become  someone great, a true follower of Jesus; sometimes we focus so much on the process, all the stages that we have to master, all the different things we have to learn to  do right, that we lose sight of the motivating passion that inspires us to keep going no matter how many times we fall & fail. Our motivating passion gives us no other choic, something inside just won't let us stop. I think we begin to find that motivating passion when we ask the question, "Will Jesus remember me?"

Send me a Text Message!We've all felt the emotion of urgency, right? That sense that smthng needs to be done right now. Somethings gotta change. Can't wait. It's urgent. Sometimes we get confused about the difference between what's important and what's urgent. We often hear people say, something like this, "Sometimes we get so wrapped up in  what's urgent that we have no time for what's important." But what that really means is that we have mislabeled what's important. The dictionary defines urgency as something of importance requiring swift action. In other words, urgency is a subset of what's important. It can't be urgent, if it's not important.Any number of issues in our world today could cause a sense of urgency. But I think Jesus is suggesting in this episode that nothing is more important or urgent than love. So let's love urgently!

Send me a Text Message!In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a story about a rippled of generosity that travels all the way to His heart. You might think that it would take a really big act of kindness to ripple that far. But actually, it's pretty doable, it's a small act with a massive impact. Because when you do it, you are doing it for Jesus. In fact, that person in need, that person living in the margins of life, may be the only Jesus you see today!And whatever you do, this Lent Season, don't miss Jesus!

Send me a Text Message!Our eyes are often drawn to what we think are the great events of our day.  We imagine that God only manages his world through the great events. But when we read His story, we can't help bu see that His plans often begin with a baby. When the gospel needs to go out; when a country needs to be liberated; when a song needs to be song; or a book needs to be written; or a medical breaththrough needs to occur; God sends a baby to do it. Is it any wonder that when the world needed to be saved, God came as a baby. But like a rock dropped in water, that baby started a ripple of generosity and kindness, a ripple of grace and power, a ripple of heaven on earth that changed the world. And if we let Jesus start a ripple in our lives, it will become a ripple that changes those around us.Let's start a ripple of Jesus!

Send me a Text Message!In today's scripture we are going to listen to some incredibly amazing, generosity promises. Promises like: whoever sows generously will reap generously; and God loves a cheerful giver; and God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work; and you will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion. Great promises, but again the question is do we trust God? Do we trust God's words? I'm going to give you a couple of great stories of the trust that leads to generosity, but I'll simply say this,I hope after listening to this episode, there is a stirring in your heart to be outrageously generous!

Send me a Text Message!You know I look around in central PA, and it's not just here, I hear of stirrings in other places as well. I think Jesus is getting ready to bring his church into a new season; a season of seeing His Kingdom come in new ways; a season of making a serious difference in the world around us. It won't happen without prayer and breakthrough prayer is almost always connected to fasting. But Isaiah 58 reminds us that fasting and prayer isn't enough. In fact, Isaiah reminds us that while we won't make a difference if we don't pray, our prayers won't even be heard if we don't care about the people around us. But if we care, then a new day will come and you can barely imagine a life like the one Isaiah 58 says is coming!

Send me a Text Message!Here is a good Lent question, "Does God really care?" Do we matter to God? I think many of us today struggle to believe that God is father who loves to bless his kids. It's the issue of trust right? Can I trust Jesus? Can I trust God? Or do I need something to hold over him, so that he will respond to me? Do my prayers matter to God? I think one of the reasons we pray is because we care. Right? I mean how many of us spend a lot of time praying for stuff we don't care about? But I think the fact that I care will not sustain my prayers. I need to know that He cares. Because if God doesn't care, prayer doesn't matter. Right? So we ask the question in this episode, "Does God really care?" And if he does, what does he care about?

Send me a Text Message!In Mark 4:1-20, Jesus is telling a story of growth and harvest. Actually it is a story of uncommon growth and harvest.  In those days, maybe a 10 fold yield was common. Jesus goes all the way to a 100 fold yield. And then he turns his story into a parable about life. A story about letting God's Word take root in our hearts for a great life breakthrough. Because in the Kingdom of "something more" there is something more to you than you see. But here's the deal, it's not ultimately about seeing it. It's actually more about hearing it. In Mark 4, Jesus may be giving us the foundational quality of those who engage life and find a 100x return. They listen. They have ears to hear and hearts that pursue the words of Christ. Who wants a 100x return on life?

Send me a Text Message!The apostle Paul knew a bit about causing suffering and going through suffering, and 2 Corinthians 4 contains one of his most encouraging words. He begins and ends with the words, "So don't lose heart." I know, in those times when it feels like we're fighting for every breath; looking at the darkness around us, maybe even in us, we might wonder is there any good news? Should I even keep going? Paul says, Yes. Don't lose heart." Because listen something is happening deeper than you can imagine. God's at work shaping a glory in you that will cause all of creation to stand and cheer. He's actually drawing closer than you can fully experience. In the battle, in the mess, in the hard, that's when you start to see his fingerprints all over your life. So don't lose heart! Don't quit. Don't give up. The best is yet to come. Don't lose heart!

Send me a Text Message!Perhaps more than anything Lent is a season to get hungry for the presence of Jesus. Fasting is giving up something that matters for someone who matters more. Can you hear his whisper, come, come to me. I wonder how many of us hold out on God bcse we're afraid we'll miss out on life? But here's the truth. If don't come to Jesus, we'll miss all the good stuff. So regardless of where you find yourself today, this is my prayer for you, "God would make our hearts sit down long enough to hear your invitation." That's what I hope happens to each of us during this season of Lent, that we hear and respond to his very, very good invitation!The goal isn't to manipulate God into action but to walk in step with Him. Jesus didn't fast and pray because He had to—He did it because He longed to be with the Father and to align His heart with the Father's will. As we follow J

Send me a Text Message!The story of Jonah inspires me to believe that we're living in days of expectancy and it's time to call urgently on God.  How urgent do you feel about making space for God? Is it, more of a "well that would be nice." Or is it more like air? "Without it, I ain't gonna make it?" With fasting and prayer, Nineveh urgently called upon God. And we find later in Jonah's story that, filled with compassion and grace; God  responded with a city-wide fast and one of the greatest revivals in history took place in one of the most wicked cities in history. What's the big deal about fasting? Fasting is a way of saying, "I'm taking this  serious.  This isn't a game. I'm coming with intensity and urgency and humility.  I'm coming in repentance.  I'm coming with desperation. I'm asking you to break my heart for the things that break your heart. I'm urgently asking for a move of your Spirit in our region!

Send me a Text Message!When I look around it seems like the people who really live life, the people who make a difference, the people I want to be like, are people who deeply care aboutsomething that matters. Bob Pierce was the founder of World Vision, what has become one the largest Christian relief and development organizations in the world today.  But it all started with a holy discontent. One day as a young pastor in Korea, Bob watched with disbelief as a young girl in third world Asia died while standing in line for food. When Pierce tried to find out why, he was told there just wasn't enough food at the head of the line.  That birthed a sacred frustration in Bob's heart and he wrote in the margins of his Bible, "God break my heart for the things that break your heart." I believe we each have a holy discontent with our name on it, a broken place that God will call us to serve, maybe even rebuild. But we won't find that place without a soft heart. And so we pray like Pierce, "God break my heart for the things that break yours."

Send me a Text Message!In this episode and the next few, we are going to dive into fasting. Fasting opens up time, makes space in our lives for something that matters more than what we are giving up. But I think fasting also somehow softens our hearts. That's what Joel 2 is all about. It's a reminder that some things are worth crying for. I believe that the next move of God is going to be a movement of tears. Charles Finney in his book, "Lectures on Revival" said, “When the sinfulness of sinners grieves, humbles and distresses Christians expect revival... Sometimes their behavior drives Christians to prayer, breaking them down, making them mourn with tender hearts.  They weep night and day. Instead of scolding and reproaching they pray.  Then you can expect revival. And that causes me to pray, "God would you give us the gift of tears?"

Send me a Text Message!I'll be honest; I spend way too much time telling God, "If you would only give me more, more influence, more people at church, more money, then I could really make a difference in the world.  Because people with more, they make a difference. But here's the bad news, sometimes the more stuff we have, the harder it is to follow Jesus. But if we will open our arms and surrender all, we get so muchmore in return. Because...you can trust Jesus. This is truly the great gamble. It's the gamble for greatness. Can I trust Jesus? Do I believe Jesus? If I get good at serving will I ever taste greatness? Have you taken the gamble of greatness? 

Send me a Text Message!I'd guess that most of us have experienced the illusion of the myth of more.  If I had just had one-thing more; one more relationship, one more degree, one more  promotion, one more toy, then life would be good. What are you chasing today?  What one-thing do you lack? Maybe it's a dream or a passion, a million dollars, a better relationship, a vacation, a new job, or health. Or maybe you have simple desires like me on that trip to D.C, (some people call them shallow, I call them simple). Sometimes all I want is for the red-light at Krispy Kreme donuts.And sometimes we get the red light, but our souls are strangely restless, because our souls are made for Christ. In other words, if you gain everything you heart thinks you desire, but miss Jesus, you will walk away sad!

Send me a Text Message!We are starting a new series for Lent, a season of preparation for the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. For the next 40 or so episodes we are going to unpack two themes, "making space for Jesus" and "taking the great gamble." And we are going to start with John's vision of Jesus in the book of Revelation.So as we pause here at the beginning of Lent, what will John tell us in Revelation 1?" I think his simply message might be, "Stop taking Jesus for granted. Ask Jesus to take first place in your heart. Ponder the stories...ponder with specificity who heis and what he did... his greatness and his glory...his wisdom and his grace... ponder the cross...and his amazing love.  And let him ask you the question, Who do you say I am?"

Send me a Text Message!Matthew 16 is one of only two places where Jesus uses the word "church." He says, "I will build my church and when I build my church, the gates of hell will not be able to stand against it." In essence Jesus is saying, "My legacy is a church that is an unstoppable force." But we know that that unstoppable force is at times an unspeakable mess. So here's my question,"When people come to us, do they see Jesus?"BY THE WAY -- I'll talk about joining me on a social media+ fast in this episode, if you join me, would you click the link below and let me know. I'll get you more information. It's part of become his church, as we make space for Jesus!Social Media+ FastIf you need to cut and paste us this https://calvary.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/780/responses/new

Send me a Text Message!In Mark 6, Jesus was amazed by the unbelief of those who had grown up with him. I wonder if I sat down with Jesus and he pointed out all that he has done for me & thru me and around me...if he might be amazed by my lack of faith?  How about you? Have you lost your wonder? Where am I on the ho-hum scale? Have I lost my sense of wonder for the power, the love, the transcendent all-encompassing utter awe-fullness of God? Has Jesus become -- just-Jesus?        If so, how do we go about...regaining our wonder?

Send me a Text Message!Mark 6:1-13 describes two completely different responses to Jesus. One response was an amazing lack of amazement. The other response is all-in surrender. So here's what I believe. I believe that if you come to Jesus with ears to hear and eyes to see...you will. If you don't, you won't. Sometimes our lack of seeing is more on us, than it is on him. We come unprepared. We come with distracted minds, souls so saturated with stuff that we don't really have space in our lives to be amazed by Jesus. Let me ask it this way, "Can you imagine growing up with Jesus?" Sometimes I do. I guess the question that jumps out frm Mark 6 is "What would it've been like to grow up with Jesus?"

Send me a Text Message! One of my favorite stories is a story of four guys contending for the life of their friend. And while there is more than one thing, I'll share from that story, one of the most powerful realities it points to is this... "Your faith may bring life to your friends." Don't miss it when it says that Jesus looked at the faith that these four guys had and because of their faith, he forgave and healed a man. Your faith might be the catalyst needed for someone else to find life. At the risk of spoiling the surprise, let me share the end of the story in Luke 5.Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, "Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!  And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God. Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, "We have seen amazing things today!" All because of the fellowship of the mat! 

Send me a Text Message!In 2025 Jesus may ask you to do something that you or others don't necessarily think is a good idea. "Not sure that will work Jesus." When he asks u to lean in, you are going to have to decide, do I trust that Jesus knows better than I do. Will I lean into what he tells me to do. Luke 5 is the story of a test for Peter and perhaps a test for us, because Jesus is looking for people who want to make a difference in 2025.  And the people he's looking for are the kind of people who will say to him...if you say so Jesus, I will do it. Are you willing to say yes to Jesus?

Send me a Text Message!So many, not all, but so many leaders reject(ed) Jesus. Why is that? I think one of the reasons people reject Jesus is because they think he (and God) is a taker and not a giver. Isn't that one of the reasons why people reject Jesus?  We have this idea that I can do life better; I can live more, get more, succeed more without Jesus in the picture. Jesus is a taker.  He wants to take my fun, take my money, take my friends, take my plans, and in return for that he'll let bad things happen to me. Do you understand the ultimate statement behind this view of God, this view of Jesus? I can't trust him. Dr. R.T. Kendall, calls it "The Betrayal Barrier." It's that moment when God seems to let us down and we have to decide, "can I trust Jesus? Is Jesus a giver or a taker?